1. Freshwater scarcity and pollution1

6. 6

8. Signs of global water pollution
Devecser, Hungary, Oct. 5, 2010 8

9. Signs of global water pollution9

10. The water footprint of a product10

11. The water footprint of a product
► the volume of fresh water used to produce the product, summed over the various steps of the production chain.
► when and where the water was used:
a water footprint includes a temporal and spatial dimension.
The water footprint of a product (a commodity, good or service) is the total volume of freshwater used to produce the product, summed over the various steps of the production chain. The water footprint of a product refers not only to the total volume of water used; it also refers to where and when the water is used.
Source:
Hoekstra, A.Y., Chapagain, A.K., Aldaya, M.M. and Mekonnen, M.M. (2011) The water footprint assessment manual: Setting the global standard, Earthscan, London, UK.
See page 195. 11

12. The water footprint of a product
Green water footprint
► volume of rainwater evaporated or incorporated into product.
Blue water footprint
► volume of surface or groundwater evaporated,
incorporated into product or returned to other catchment or the sea.
Grey water footprint
► volume of polluted water.
Green water footprint – Volume of rainwater consumed during the production process. This is particularly relevant for agricultural and forestry products (products based on crops or wood), where it refers to the total rainwater evapotranspiration (from fields and plantations) plus the water incorporated into the harvested crop or wood.
Blue water footprint – Volume of surface and groundwater consumed as a result of the production of a good or service. Consumption refers to the volume of freshwater used and then evaporated or incorporated into a product. It also includes water abstracted from surface or groundwater in a catchment and returned to another catchment or the sea. It is the amount of water abstracted from groundwater or surface water that does not return to the catchment from which it was withdrawn.
Grey water footprint – The grey water footprint of a product is an indicator of freshwater pollution that can be associated with the production of a product over its full supply chain. It is defined as the volume of freshwater that is required to assimilate the load of pollutants based on natural background concentrations and existing ambient water quality standards. It is calculated as the volume of water that is required to dilute pollutants to such an extent that the quality of the water remains above agreed water quality standards.
Source:
Hoekstra, A.Y., Chapagain, A.K., Aldaya, M.M. and Mekonnen, M.M. (2011) The water footprint assessment manual: Setting the global standard, Earthscan, London, UK.
See page 187, 189, 190. 12

14. Water footprint: 2700 litres for 1 cotton shirt
Water footprint: 2700 litres for 1 cotton shirt. In order to get 1 kg of final cotton textile, one requires 11,000 litres of water (as a global average). Thus, when we have a shirt with a weight of 250 gram, this shirt costs 2700 litres. Of this total water volume, 45% is irrigation water consumed (evaporated) by the cotton plant; 41% is rainwater evaporated from the cotton field during the growing period; and 14% is water required to dilute the wastewater flows that result from the use of fertilisers in the field and the use of chemicals in the textile industry. Globally, the annual cotton production evaporates 210 billion cubic meters of water and pollutes 50 billion cubic meters of water. This is 3.5 % of the global water use for crop production.
[Hoekstra & Chapagain, 2008]

15. The water footprint:
making a link between consumption in one place and impacts on water systems elsewhere
Cotton for export
Water use for cotton production can have major impacts on the environment. Particularly intensive irrigation schemes can have disastrous effects, as shown for example in the case of Uzbekistan and the desiccation of the Aral Sea.
Shrinking Aral Sea 15

16. Endangered Indus River Dolphin
The water footprint:
making a link between consumption in one place and impacts on water systems elsewhere
The Indus River dolphin (Platanista minor) is one of the world's rarest mammals and the second most endangered freshwater river dolphin. Approximately 1,100 specimens of this species exist today in a small fraction of their former range, the lower reaches of the Indus River in Pakistan. However, the population of this species has gradually declined because of various factors, including water pollution, poaching, fragmentation of habitat due to barrages, and dolphin strandings in the irrigation canals. (Source: WWF). Pollution (pesticide runoff) from mainly cotton.
Yangtze dolphin extinct, Indus severely threatened. Water for people and nature requires management which focuses on multiple needs of systems. WF analysis allows us to trace supply and identify impacts. It gives clear steer on risk and responsibility.
Endangered Indus River Dolphin
[Photo: WWF]

17. 2. Ratio green/blue/grey water footprint.
This is a global average and aggregate number. Policy decisions should be taken on the basis of:
1. Actual water footprint of certain coffee at the precise production location.
2. Ratio green/blue/grey water footprint.
3. Local impacts of the water footprint based on local vulnerability and scarcity.
It costs about 21,000 litres of water to produce 1 kg of roasted coffee. For a standard cup of coffee we require 7 gram of roasted coffee, so that a cup of coffee costs 140 litres of water. Assuming that a standard cup of coffee is 125 ml, we thus need more than 1100 drops of water for producing one drop of coffee. Drinking tea instead of coffee would save a lot of water. For a standard cup of tea of 250 ml we require 30 litres of water.
[Hoekstra & Chapagain, 2008]

18. [Hoekstra & Chapagain, 2008]18

19. The water footprint of pure chocolate is 2400 litres for a 100-gram bar (as a world average!). Composition of dark chocolate: 40% cocoa paste (water footprint litres/kg); 20% cocoa butter (water footprint litres/kg); 40% sugar (water footprint 1526 litres/kg). We then can calculate: 40% % % 1526 = litres/kg = 2400 liters for one 100gr chocolate bar. The water footprint of milk powder is 4600 litres/kg, so that milk chocolate will have a bit larger water footprint (about 2500 litres for one 100gr chocolate bar) than dark chocolate when total cocoa content remains the same. Most crucial for the water footprint of chocolate is the cocoa paste and cocoa butter content.
[Hoekstra & Chapagain, 2008]

20. The water footprint of beef is 15500 litres of water per kg of beef.
[Hoekstra & Chapagain, 2008]

21. The water footprint of a beef cow is 3,100,000 litres
The water footprint of a beef cow is 3,100,000 litres. In an industrial beef production system, it takes in average three years before the animal is slaughtered to produce about 200 kg of boneless beef. The animal consumes nearly 1300 kg of grains (wheat, oats, barley, corn, dry peas, soybean meal and other small grains), 7200 kg of roughages (pasture, dry hay, silage and other roughages), 24 cubic meter of water for drinking and 7 cubic meter of water for servicing. This means that to produce one kilogram of boneless beef, we use about 6.5 kg of grain, 36 kg of roughages, and 155 litres of water (only for drinking and servicing). Producing the volume of feed requires about litres of water in average.
[Hoekstra & Chapagain, 2008]

22. The water footprint of a cow
Food
► 1300 kg of grains
(wheat, oats, barley, corn, dry peas, soybean, etc)
► 7200 kg of roughages
(pasture, dry hay, silage, etc)
Water
► litres for drinking
► 7000 litres for servicing.
99% 1%
The water footprint of a beef cow is 3,100,000 litres. In an industrial beef production system, it takes in average three years before the animal is slaughtered to produce about 200 kg of boneless beef. The animal consumes nearly 1300 kg of grains (wheat, oats, barley, corn, dry peas, soybean meal and other small grains), 7200 kg of roughages (pasture, dry hay, silage and other roughages), 24 cubic meter of water for drinking and 7 cubic meter of water for servicing. This means that to produce one kilogram of boneless beef, we use about 6.5 kg of grain, 36 kg of roughages, and 155 litres of water (only for drinking and servicing). Producing the volume of feed requires about litres of water in average.
[Hoekstra & Chapagain, 2008]

23. 
The water footprint of a piece of beef depends on how it was produced, e.g. composition of animal feed, origin of the feed ingredients.
Hoekstra, A.Y. (2010) The water footprint of animal products, In: D'Silva, J. and Webster, J. (eds.) The meat crisis: Developing more sustainable production and consumption, Earthscan, London, UK, pp

24. Water footprint: Grazing systems mostly green local Water footprint:
green & blue
local
Mixed systems
Mekonnen, M.M. and Hoekstra, A.Y. (2010) The green, blue and grey water footprint of farm animals and animal products, Value of Water Research Report Series No.48, UNESCO-IHE, Delft, the Netherlands.
Water footprint:
green & blue
partly imported
Industrial systems 24

25. Water footprint
of a consumer 25

26. Water footprint of a consumer
► the total volume of water appropriated for the production of the goods and services consumed.
► equal to the sum of the water footprints of all goods and services consumed.
► dimensions of a water footprint
volume
where and when
type of water use: green, blue, grey 26

27. The world is thirsty because it is hyngry!
The total water footprint of a consumer in the UK
► about 3% of your water footprint is at home.
150 litre/day
► about 97% of your water footprint is ‘invisible’, it is related to the products you buy in the supermarket.
3400 litre/day for agricultural products
1100 litre/day for industrial products
The world is thirsty because it is hyngry!
► about 60 to 65% of your water footprint lies abroad. 27

29. Water footprint: 10 litres of water for one A4-sheet of paper
Water footprint: 10 litres of water for one A4-sheet of paper. We assume here eighty-grams paper (80g/m2). Further we assume that the paper is produced from wood.
Sources:
Hoekstra, A.Y. and Chapagain, A.K. (2008) Globalization of water: Sharing the planet's freshwater resources, Blackwell Publishing, Oxford, UK.
Van Oel, P.R. and Hoekstra, A.Y. (2010) The green and blue water footprint of paper products: methodological considerations and quantification, Value of Water Research Report Series No.46, UNESCO-IHE, Delft, the Netherlands.
[Hoekstra & Chapagain, 2008]

30. Water footprint: 2700 litres for 1 cotton shirt
Water footprint: 2700 litres for 1 cotton shirt. In order to get 1 kg of final cotton textile, one requires 11,000 litres of water (as a global average). Thus, when we have a shirt with a weight of 250 gram, this shirt costs 2700 litres. Of this total water volume, 45% is irrigation water consumed (evaporated) by the cotton plant; 41% is rainwater evaporated from the cotton field during the growing period; and 14% is water required to dilute the wastewater flows that result from the use of fertilisers in the field and the use of chemicals in the textile industry. Globally, the annual cotton production evaporates 210 billion cubic meters of water and pollutes 50 billion cubic meters of water. This is 3.5 % of the global water use for crop production.
[Hoekstra & Chapagain, 2008]

31. National water footprint accounting31

32. Water footprint of national consumption
► total amount of water that is used to produce the goods and services consumed by the inhabitants of the nation.
► two components:
internal water footprint – inside the country.
external water footprint – in other countries.
The ‘water footprint of national consumption’ is defined as the total amount of fresh water that is used to produce the goods and services consumed by the inhabitants of the nation. Part of this water footprint lies outside the territory of the nation. The term should not be confused with the ‘water footprint within a nation’, which refers to the total freshwater volume consumed or polluted within the territory of the nation.
Internal water footprint of national consumption – The part of the water footprint of national consumption that falls inside the nation, in other words, the appropriation of domestic water resources for producing goods and services that are consumed domestically.
External water footprint of national consumption – The part of the water footprint of national consumption that falls outside the nation considered. It refers to the appropriation of water resources in other nations for the production of goods and services that are imported into and consumed within the nation considered.
Source:
Hoekstra, A.Y., Chapagain, A.K., Aldaya, M.M. and Mekonnen, M.M. (2011) The water footprint assessment manual: Setting the global standard, Earthscan, London, UK.
Pages 189, 190, 195.
► water footprint of national consumption = water footprint within the nation + virtual water import
– virtual water export 32

33. Water footprint per capita
Global average water footprint
USA has a large water footprint because of the high consumption level. Nigeria and Thailand have a large water footprint because of inefficient water use (large water use per unit of product).
Source:
Hoekstra, A.Y. and Chapagain, A.K. (2008) Globalization of water: Sharing the planet's freshwater resources, Blackwell Publishing, Oxford, UK.
Page 60.
[Hoekstra & Chapagain, 2008]

34. Average national water footprint per capita
( )

35. The Water Footprint Network35

36. Feel free to go to the water footprint website, find much more info and freely download publications. 36

37. Find the water footprint of various products in the Product Gallery on the water footprint website.37

38. Calculate your own water footprint at www.waterfootprint.org 38